Nation's largest lawn & garden chain to close, 2800 to lose jobs

[Bluebear]

We're turning the corner!



TROY, Michigan — Frank’s Nursery & Crafts Inc., which was hatched in Detroit in the 1940s as a 24-hour fruit stand and grew into the nation’s largest lawn and garden retailer, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Wednesday and said it would liquidate its assets.

A once vibrant company that pioneered the concept of a national nursery chain, Frank’s struggled in recent years to stay afloat in the face of intense competition from mega-retailers.

The Troy-based company will close 169 stores in 14 states — including 33 in Michigan — and lay off 2,800 employees.

[NC_Nurse]

1. Thanks Walmart!

:(

[buff2]

2. But.........

I just saw on the "news" today that un-employment is down,the economy is getting better, bu$h has gained a momentum and is up in every poll,God is good,Jesus is great and what more can we ask for? :eyes:

[Bluebear]

3. you're right...

Those 2,800 are just lazy welfare dems. ;)

[SoCalDem]

4. When you are barely hanging onto your house, the yard

and other "amenities" are on the back burner.. The trickle-down will be hitting a lot of formerly lucrative businesses.. before long, we will be down to just the "basics", unless you are in the upper-crustie class..

Fabric shops may make a come-back too, as the "middles" who once shopped for clothes, may be back to making them..and maybe even shoe repair places may become common again...

[Bluebear]

5. Well, Cheney is saying everyone is making money on ebay

Maybe people are selling off their goods to buy food.

[Zookeeper]

7. For what it's worth...

as a person with (modest) sewing skills, I'll tell you that it seems cheaper to buy clothes on sale or clearance due to manufacturers using underpaid, foreign labor. I kind of miss the days when making one's own clothing felt like a worthwhile use of time.

[Blue Wally]

6. Franks was a mega-retailer

How many family nurseries did Frank's shut down in their growth from a single store into a large enterprise? Sounds like a barracuda got eaten by a shark after cleaning up the minnows.

[KamaAina]

8. We're turning the corner, all right...

...onto a one-way street, going the wrong way... and an eighteen-wheeler is barreling toward us... :scared: